ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Culture
PM to visit UP on October 20 and inaugurate Kushinagar International Airport
PM to participate in an event marking Abhidhamma Day at Mahaparinirvana Temple
PM to lay foundation stone of Rajkiya Medical College, Kushinagar and also inaugurate & lay foundation stone of various development projects in Kushinagar
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will visit Uttar Pradesh on 20th October, 2021. At around 10 AM, the Prime Minister will inaugurate the Kushinagar International Airport. Subsequently, at around 11:30 AM, he will participate in an event marking Abhidhamma Day at Mahaparinirvana Temple. Thereafter, at around 1:15 PM, the Prime Minister will attend a public function to inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of various development projects in Kushinagar.
Inauguration of Kushinagar International Airport
The inauguration of the Kushinagar International Airport will be marked by the landing of the inaugural flight at the airport from Colombo, Sri Lanka, carrying Sri lankan delegation of over hundred Buddhist Monks & dignitaries including the 12-member Holy Relic entourage bringing the Holy Buddha Relics for Exposition. The delegation also comprises of Anunayakas  of all four Nikatas  of Buddhism in Sri Lanka i.e Asgiriya, Amarapura, Ramanya, Malwatta as well as five ministers of the Government of Sri Lanka led by Cabinet Minister Namal Rajapakshe.
The Kushinagar International Airport has been built at an estimated cost of Rs. 260 crore. It will facilitate domestic & international pilgrims to visit the Mahaparinirvana sthal of Lord Buddha and is an endeavour in connecting the Buddhist pilgrimage holy sites around the world. The airport will serve nearby districts of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and is an important step in boosting the investment & employment opportunities in the region.
Abhidhamma Day at Mahaparinirvana Temple
Prime Minister will visit the Mahaparinirvana temple, offer Archana and Chivar to the reclining statue of Lord Buddha and also plant a Bodhi tree sapling.
Prime Minister will participate in an event, organised to mark Abhidhamma Day. The day symbolises the end of three-month rainy retreat – Varshavaas or Vassa – for the Buddhist Monks, during which they stay at one place in vihara & monastery and pray. The event will also be attended by eminent Monks from Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, South Korea, Nepal, Bhutan and Cambodia, as well as Ambassadors of various countries.
Prime Minister will also walk through the exhibition of Paintings of Ajanta frescos, Buddhist Sutra Calligraphy and Buddhist artefacts excavated from Vadnagar and other sites in Gujarat.
Inauguration & laying of Foundation Stone of development projects
Prime Minister will participate in a public function at Barwa Jangal, Kushinagar. In the event, he will lay the foundation stone of Rajkiya Medical College, Kushinagar which will be built at a cost of over Rs 280 crore. The Medical college will have a 500 bed hospital and provide admissions to 100 students in MBBS course in academic session 2022-2023. Prime Minister will also inaugurate & lay the foundation stone of 12 development projects worth over Rs 180 crore.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
Centre writes to Delhi Government on Irregularities in Identification of COVID Vaccination beneficiaries below the age of 45 years
Show Cause notice issued to Private COVID Vaccination Centres seeking explanation
The Vaccination exercise as a tool to protect the most vulnerable population groups in the country from COVID-19 continues to be regularly reviewed and monitored at the highest level. The Union Health Ministry has written to Principal Secretary , GNCTD to draw attention to irregularities in the identification of COVID Vaccination beneficiaries, below the age of 45 years of age, by some Private COVID Vaccination Centres .
In the letter to the Principal Secretary , GNCTD it has been pointed out that there have been serious lapses in registration of beneficiaries by the VIMHANS  located at Nehru Nagar area in the North East District of Delhi, operating as a Private COVID Vaccination Centre. VIMHANS has been found to register beneficiaries below the age of 45 years as Health Care Workers  & Front Line Workers , and vaccinate them.
As per provisions of the ongoing COVID-I9 Vaccination Drive, citizens above 45 years of age  are being vaccinated along with Health Care Workers  & Front Line Workers  above 18 years of age as per the recommendations of NEGVAC. CoWIN sample data  of vaccinated beneficiaries from this Private CVC verified by the Health Ministry, revealed that many beneficiaries lie outside the ambit of the eligible beneficiaries , in violation of the guidelines laid down by the Union Health Ministry.
Noting that vaccines are a precious commodity, these serious lapses at the VIMHANS CVC in terms of compliance of COVID- 19 vaccination guidelines harm the countrywide vaccination exercise as eligible beneficiaries may get deprived from vaccination. The Delhi administration has been asked to immediately issue a show cause notice to VIMHANS regarding such wrong practices which violate COVID-19 vaccination norms, and seek a written explanation from them within the next 48 hours. Appropriate monetary fine may also be imposed on the hospital. Further, it has been suggested that depanelment of the Hospital may be considered if the explanation to the show cause notice is found unsatisfactory.
In another case, the Delhi Government, in pursuance of the advice from the Union Health Ministry, has issued a show-cause notice to Bensups Hospital, Sector-12 Dwarka, Delhi for violation of the guidelines issued by the Centre on the eligible groups of population for receiving COVID vaccination, where persons below the age of 45 years have been wrongly registered as HCWs and FLWs.
Prime Minister's Office
PM chairs 36th PRAGATI Meeting
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi today chaired the 36th PRAGATI meeting.
In the meeting, ten agenda items were taken up for review including eight projects, grievance relating to one scheme and one programme. Among the eight projects, three were from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, two from Ministry of Railways, one each from Ministry of Power, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Ministry of Home Affairs. These eight projects, with a cumulative cost of about ₹44,545 crore, pertained to 12 states viz., West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Jharkhand, Sikkim, Uttar Pradesh, Mizoram, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Meghalaya.
The Prime Minister expressed his concerns in delays being observed in execution of some of the projects, and directed the officials concerned that all pending issues should be resolved in a time-bound manner, and wherever possible, in Mission Mode.
During the interaction, the Prime Minister reviewed the programme for elimination of single use plastic. Review of grievances related to Pradhan Mantri Gram SadakYojana was also taken up. The Prime Minister impressed upon the need to involve people, specially youth through a proper awareness campaign. He also called upon all officials to pay special attention to the quality of roads being constructed under the Pradhan Mantri Gram SadakYojana.
In the previous 35 PRAGATI interactions, 290 projects having a total cost of about ₹13.60 lakh crore, along with 51 programmes / schemes and grievances pertaining to 17 different sectors have been reviewed.
Ministry of Heavy Industries
FAME-India Scheme
In order to promote manufacturing of electric and hybrid vehicle technology and to ensure sustainable growth of the same, Department of Heavy Industry is implementing FAME-India Scheme- Phase-I [Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of  Electric Vehicles in India] from 1st April 2015. The scheme, which was initially upto 31st April 2017, has been extended upto 31st March, 2019 or till Notification of FAME-II, whichever is earlier.
The Phase-II of the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of  Electric Vehicles  Scheme proposes to give a push to electric vehicles  in public transport and seeks to encourage adoption of EVs by way of market creation and demand aggregation. The draft scheme envisages the holistic growth of EV industry, including providing for charging infrastructure, research and development of EV technologies and push towards greater indigenization. The scheme has not been finalized yet.
Total outlay of Phase-I of the FAME-India Scheme has been enhanced from Rs. 795 Crore to Rs. 895 Crore.
Under Demand Creation focus area, the purchaser of electric and hybrid vehicles is given an upfront reduction in purchase price by the dealer at the time of purchase of xEVs. Since inception of the scheme & till 6th December 2018, the Government has given financial support  to about 2,61,507 electric/ hybrid vehicles. 119 models of vehicles of 27 OEMs got registered under FAME-India Scheme for availing demand incentive.
Since inception of the scheme, several segments have been added to the scheme so as to ensure that more people take advantage of this scheme. In this spirit, support to fully electric buses have been added to the scheme to support electrification of public transport. The positive results of these efforts are borne out by the fact that DHI has so far sanctioned 455 electric buses for 9 cities in a pilot scheme launched on 31st October 2017, which got interest from 44 cities seeking 3144 e-buses.
There is no proposal from Government of India to invest in manufacturing of E-Buses. 100 % FDI by automatic route is permitted in the automobile sector. Further, automobile sector is in deregulated sector and both private sector and public sector are free to carry out investment in the automobile sector, including for manufacturing of Electric Vehicles and E-Buses.
The fund allocation made under this Scheme is given hereunder:
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S.No.
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Financial Year
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Fund Allocated
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1
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2015-16
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Rs. 75.00 Crore
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2
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2016-17
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Rs. 144.00Crore
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3
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2017-18
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Rs. 165.00 Crore
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4
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2018-19
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Rs. 195.00Crore
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TOTAL
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Rs. 579.00 crore
This information was given by the Minister of State of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, Babul Supriyo, in reply to written questions in the Lok Sabha.
Ministry of Finance
187.03 Kisan Credit Cards with credit limit of Rs 1.76 lakh crore sanctioned to farmers as on 29th January 2021
A special drive to cover farmers under Kisan Credit Card  is going on since February 2020. As per the information furnished by Public Sector Banks & NABARD, 187.03 lakh KCC with credit limit of Rs 1.76 lakh crore have been sanctioned to farmers across the country during this drive upto 29th January 2021.
This was stated by Shri Anurag Singh Thakur, Union Minister of State for Finance & Corporate Affairs in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.
In order to ensure that all eligible farmers are provided with hassle-free and timely credit for their agricultural operations, the Government had introduced the Kisan Credit Card  Scheme to enable the farmers to purchase agricultural inputs such as seeds, fertilisers, pesticides, etc. The KCC Scheme has been simplified further w.e.f. 2012, which has the provision of ATM enabled debit card with, inter alia, facilities of one-time documentation, built-in cost escalation in the limit, any number of withdrawals within the limit, etc.
The total number of KCC issued in the country as reported by RBI  & NABARD  during last three years are given at Annexure-I & Annexure-II respectively.
Prime Minister's Office
PM Anguished by the loss of lives due to a tragic accident in West Bengal
Announces ex-gratia from PMNRF for the victims
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has expressed deep grief over the loss of lives due to a tragic accident in Birbhum district of West Bengal. Shri Modi has also announced an ex-gratia from PMNRF for the victims.
The Prime Minister's Office tweeted;
"Anguished by the loss of lives due to a tragic accident in Birbhum district of West Bengal. Prayers with the injured.
Rs. 2 lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased and the injured would be given Rs. 50,000: PM"
Ministry of Education
IIT Kharagpur Researchers Receive Award for developing Novel Vegetable Oil to keep the Heart Healthy
Kolkata, 11 August, 2020
The Researchers from IIT Kharagpur have developed a vegetable oil powder to keep the heart healthy. The innovation led by Prof. Hari Niwas Mishra from the Department of Agricultural and Food Engineering involved tailoring vegetable oils through preparation of oil blends which are inherently endowed with natural antioxidants as well as well-balanced fatty acids.
Oils vary significantly in their fat saturation. The healthiest are those containing mostly polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats which are healthy for the heart. The role of such fats is widely known in reducing low density lipoprotein or harmful blood cholesterol. “The novelty of the research team is in its formulation of a nutritionally balanced polyunsaturated fatty acid  enriched with antioxidants and producing a synergistic vegetable oil blend,” explained Prof. Mishra, while deliberating on the new innovation.
The PUFA-rich oil powder will find extensive use in replacing dairy fat in bakeries and confectionaries; believe researchers Monalisha Pattnaik and Dr. Mousumi Ghosh from the Food Chemistry and Technology Laboratory run by Prof. H N Mishra. “There is already a shortage of dairy fat which can not only be compensated by this product but also have a healthy impact particularly mitigating heart related diseases on the consumers,” they pointed out.
Congratulating the researchers, Prof. Virendra Tewari, Director, IIT Kharagpur remarked, “Even after seven decades nutritious and healthy food are seen as lifestyle products due to the affordability and awareness. But with the holistic approach in the present scenario, we must remove this bias which is a toll on the health of millions in this country. This product answers this call by making available PUFA and antioxidant-rich vegetable oil for mass-scale consumption by large sections of the population, especially by the lower income groups, who are otherwise forced to buy oil with saturated fats.”
Another critical area the researchers have addressed is the susceptibility of PUFA-rich vegetable oil to rancidity and reduced shelf-life under severe environmental conditions. “We have developed a novel process to protect the lipids from oxidation by microencapsulating with appropriate materials,” said Prof. Mishra. The innovation has already been patented and is ready for commercialisation at low costs.
The researchers have received several awards for this product. A key among them is the Gandhian Young Technological Innovation  Award 2020. Furthermore, this work has been recognized for Young Student Invention and best thesis work in IIT Kharagpur. The team is working incessantly towards providing low-cost healthy foods to a wider section of the society.
SSS
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President's Secretariat
President of India’s message on the eve of National Day of Iceland
The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee has extended his greetings and felicitations to the Government and people of the Republic of Iceland on the eve of their National Day .
In a message to His Excellency Mr. Guðni Th. Jóhannesson, the President of the Republic of Iceland, the President has said, “On behalf of the Government, the people of India and on my own behalf, I have great pleasure in extending warm greetings and felicitations to Your Excellency and the people of the Republic of Iceland on the occasion of your National Day.
The traditionally warm and friendly relations between our two countries are based on our shared values and common interests. I am confident that our two Governments will continue to work together in the coming years to further strengthen these close ties for the mutual benefit of our peoples.
I take this opportunity to convey to Your Excellency my best wishes for your good health and well-being and for the continued progress, peace and prosperity of the friendly people of the Republic of Iceland”.
Ministry of Power
NTPC commences Vigilance Awareness Week across its Power Stations
NTPC Ltd. Country’s largest power producer and the PSU under Ministry of Power, commenced the Vigilance Awareness Week , with a vow to make “Vigilant India, Prosperous India”. The Vigilance Awareness Week is being observed across Power stations of NTPC.
The Vigilance Awareness Week began with senior management of NTPC taking pledge for promoting accountability and curbing corruption in all spheres of life and creating awareness by following all safety protocols during Covid-19.
As a vision-driven and value governed organization, it has always been NTPC’s endeavour to achieve excellence with ethics. Through the Vigilance Awareness Week, NTPC will further reiterate its commitment towards building a self- reliant India - "आत्मनिभकर भारत”. In this process, NTPC is committed to remain vigilant, transparent and accountable for its actions to stakeholders and the society at large. NTPC’s Vigilance Department has strived in undertaking sincere efforts in aligning its function with all processes of the company. Films, radio jingles and social media messaging are being displayed and shared to propagate the messages to public at large.
To raise awareness on Vigilance, NTPC will undertake various employee engagement programs like quiz, elocution, essay and painting competitions for their employees and their family members as well. Various social campaigns too will be rolled out to raise awareness on the issue. Banners and posters will being displayed across NTPC Power Stations to educate both external and internal stakeholders on the significance of the Vigilance Awareness Week.
Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports
The largest-ever 54-member Indian contingent given a formal virtual send-off for Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games by Sports Minister Shri Anurag Singh Thakur
Key Highlights:
- A54-member Indian contingent was given a formal send-off for Tokyo Paralympics today.
- This is the biggest-ever contingent India is sending to any Paralympic.
A 54-member, largest ever Indian contingent was given a formal and virtual send-off today to Tokyo Paralympic Games by Union Minister for Youth Affairs and SportsShri Anurag SinghThakur. The athletes were addressed and sent best wishes by Shri Anurag Thakur via a video message. Minister of Tourism Shri G.K Reddy, and MoS External Affairs and Culture SmtMeenakshi Lekhi were also present and addressed the athletes.
At the formal send-off ceremony, Shri Anurag Thakur said, “India is sending it’s largest ever contingent to the Paralympic Games in Tokyo – 54 para-sportspersons across 9 sports disciplines. The passion of our Para-Athletes shows their phenomenal human spirit. Remember that when you play for India you will have a 130 crore Indians cheering for you! I am extremely confident that our para- athletes will give their optimum best! Prime Minister Sh Narendra Modi had met our Rio 2016 Paralympic Games athletes and has always had a keen interest for the welfare of our athletes and focussed the government's approach on nurturing talent along with development of sports Infrastructure across the country. Here’s wishing them the very best!”
Minister of Tourism, G.K Reddysaid, “Blessings of whole nation are with the athletes and national flag should fly high again in Tokyo. It is dream of every player to do good at international level and make its country proud and he firmly believes that Paralympic athletes will fulfil this dream”.The Union Minister also added that the Government has always supported sportspersons and said that the vision of the Prime Minister needed to be lauded in conceiving the Target Olympic Podium Scheme  in 2014.
In her address to athletes MoS External Affairs and Culture Meenakshi Lekhi said “In accordance with the vision of Prime Minister, alldivyaang brothers, sisters and children are part of one India and we all are together. AsIndia is confidently moving towards 75th year of independence, Paralympic athletes are also moving ahead with same confidence”. She also increased the enthusiasm of the athletes by making a victory sign along with the athletes.
Deepa Malik, President of Paralympic Committee of India said “Everyone has worked very hard and we are looking at very amazing competition at Tokyo 2020 and are very confident that we are going to bring lot of joy, lot of glory to the tricolour.” Shri Gursharan Singh and Shri Ashok Bedi of Paralympic Committee were also present on the occasion.
54 athletes from India will be competing in 9 sports disciplines including Archery, Athletics , Badminton, Swimming, Weight Liftingamong others.This is the biggest-ever contingent India is sending to any Olympics.
#ICheer4India
Ministry of Labour & Employment
Shri Bhupender Yadav launches new features in eShram Portal to enhance utility of the portal and facilitate ease of registration for unorganised workers
Union Minister for Labour & Employment and Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shri Bhupender Yadav, launched new features in eShram Portal today in presence of Ms. Arti Ahuja, Secretary, Ministry of Labour & Employment and other Senior officers of the Ministry.

The new features added in eShram portal will enhance the utility of the portal and facilitate ease of registration for unorganised workers. The eShram registered workers can now connect with Employment opportunities, Skilling, Apprenticeship, Pension Scheme, Digital Skilling and States’ schemes through eShram portal.
A feature of capturing family details of migrant worker has been added to the eShram portal. This feature can help in providing Child education and women centric schemes to the migrant workers who have migrated with family. Further, a new feature on sharing of data of construction workers registering on eShram with the concerned Building and Other Construction Workers’  Welfare Board, has been added to ensure registration of eShram construction workers with the respective BOCW board and access to the schemes meant for them.
The Union Minister also formally launched Data Sharing Portal  for sharing of eShram data with the State/ UT Governments. Data Sharing Portal will allow sharing of eShram beneficiaries data with the respective States and Union Territories in a secured manner for targeted implementation of social security/welfare schemes for the unorganised workers registered on eShram. Recently, Ministry initiated mapping of different schemes data with eShram data to identify the eShram registrants who have not yet received the benefits of these schemes. This data is also being shared with States/UTs based on which, States/UTs can identify unorganised workers who have not yet received benefit of the social welfare/security schemes and provide schemes’ benefit to them, on priority.
Ministry of Labour & Employment is continuously working for the welfare of workers in the country. In this endeavour, Ministry launched eShram portal on 26th August 2021 to create a comprehensive National Database of Unorganised Workers which is seeded with Aadhaar. As on 21st April 2023, over 28.87 crore unorganised workers have registered on eShram portal.
Prime Minister's Office
PM praises inauguration of civil enclave at Kanpur Airport
The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has said that the new civil enclave at Kanpur Airport will ease travel and expand opportunities.
In reply to a tweet by Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Shri Yogi Adityanath, the Prime Minister tweeted :
"बहुत-बहुत बधाई! कानपुर एयरपोर्ट पर सुविधाओं का यह विस्तार जहां लोगों के हवाई सफर को और ज्यादा आसान बनाएगा, वहीं इससे कई नए अवसरों का भी निर्माण होगा।"